GLENDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — A former player with the Arizona Rattlers, the Valley’s indoor professional football team, is accused of leaving a dog in a hot car outside of a Glendale hotel.
A spokesperson with Glendale police says the department will be filing misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty against Patrick Jones. A spokesperson with the Rattlers says the team released Jones before the organization knew about the incident.
The team shared the following statement:
The Arizona Rattlers are aware of an incident involving Patrick Jones that occurred on March 15. A decision to release Jones was made before the organization knew about the incident.
As of today, March 16, Jones has not been charged with any crime related to the incident, but we are aware that charges may be filed later pending the Glendale City Attorney’s review of the incident.
On Sunday, around 5:30 p.m., Glendale officers were called to check on an animal in the parking lot of Westgate Entertainment District, near 95th and Glendale avenues. A witness told police there was a dog inside a vehicle with the windows up, court documents state.
Body-camera video shared by Glendale police shows the moment officers arrived at the scene and began speaking to witnesses who tried to rescue the dog.
“We noticed he [the dog] was in there. We gave him water and everything. I don’t know if they’re living out the car or what’s going on. We came out and he’s still here,” one witness told police.
An officer found the dog panting inside the locked vehicle, with the window slightly cracked. The officer also noticed that the dog had no food or water.
A man is accused of accused of leaving a dog in a hot car outside of a Glendale hotel.(Glendale Police Department)
The witness told police they were at Westgate for several hours and saw the dog inside the vehicle the entire time, but the owner was not found.
Investigators say Jones arrived at the scene and initially claimed that it was not his vehicle, but later admitted that it was his.
“Hey, that’s your car, huh?” one officer asked Jones. “Get your dog out of the car.”
Jones reportedly told police that he was staying at a nearby hotel, and officers questioned him for leaving a dog in the hot car.
“People are calling because you have your dog in there. Why do you have your dog in there?” one officer asked.
“Because he can’t stay at the hotel,” Jones replied.
Court documents state Jones told police he kept the dog in the car because he had “nowhere else for the dog to stay.”
“Well, you can’t keep your dog in there. So, you should probably get your dog out or we’re going to break your window and take it off,” the officer said.
Jones then took the dog out of the car and handed it over to police, stating that officers “could take the dog because he could not take care of it,” court documents state.
Jones was not booked into jail since police said he left the scene and left the dog behind. The dog was handed over to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.
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